E x t r a. In our slang, diction-y sense of the word, being called extra conveys a feeling of being a bit too much. However, this week we embrace being extra!

Extra can be cause for celebration! Often, it means you are passionate about the subject. Sooooo, for your blog post this week, your task is to figure out what you are passionate about; what makes you *extra* so to speak? Being passionate doesn’t necessarily have to be something you love. Don’t simply gush or bash your topic. Your goal is to share your knowledge, your e x p e r t i s e, your savvy aplomb about a subject that is meaningful to you.

How do you know it’s your passion?

Well, when someone mentions __________, suddenly…

Your normal good sense and ability to follow accepted social norms is taken over and now you are excitedly jumping up and down, gesturing wildly, your eyeballs bug out, you are chattering a mile a minute, and shouting everything-you-know-about-__________ to your unsuspecting friend, who really just wanted a yes or no answer to _____________.

You. Are. Extra.

This week, embrace the extra. Write about your inspirations, motivations, or passions about a topic of your choice.

Requirements:

Creative title and label it (PB #1)

450-600 words

Your reader should FEEL your passion. Talk to your reader. Use precise, thoughtful diction to convey how you feel about your topic.

Begin by reading the two articles linked in this blog post. The first article is about Alter Egos. The second blog post is about Frank Abagnale, a man who created an alter ego in real life. Think through all the reasons why someone creates an alter ego.

Choose one of the two options below to write your blog post:

Create your own alter ego. What is your alter-ego’s name? Describe your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, your physical characteristics. Think about the life that character would lead. How do others see you? How do you see yourself as your alter-ego? Include an image, photo, quote, or link to a song that captures the nature of your alter-ego. Explain how this photo, quote, image, or song fits your alter ego’s characteristics. Connect back to what you learned about alter egos in the two articles.

2. Choose a character from a book, movie, comic, or a celebrity performer that has a known alter-ego. Describe his/her alter-ego vs. his/her “real-life” identity. Describe their personality, their strengths and weaknesses, their physical characteristics. Think about the life their alter-ego leads. How do others see the alter-ego? How does the alter-ego view himself? Include an image, photo, quote, or link to a song that captures the nature of your alter-ego. Explain how this photo, quote, image, or song fits your alter ego’s characteristics. Connect back to what you learned about alter egos in the two articles.

For your blog post:

Create an interesting title. Label it CRR #1.

Example title: Meeting my Alter Ego- I am… (CRR#1)

2. 400-650 words.

3. Include an visual image, photo, quote, video, etc.

4. Remember: You MUST meet the requirements for a Class Related Response (CRR) post. See Mrs. Tisinger’s blog for the requirements.

In your writer’s notebook, make notes as you analyze and reflect on strengths, weaknesses (things you won’t do!), areas of improvement, and things you’ll want to remember.

Now, here are some links to great blogs that are visually appealing. They use images, links, photos, videos, etc., themes, and color to make their posts interesting and CONNECT with their audience- the readers. They TALK to them in a conversational tone, but still have strong CONTENT.

Find 3 things in the blogs below that they did well. When you create your blog, do those things. 🙂

Here are a few blogs to check out. They all have some elements of greatness!

The lyrics in our favorite songs reach us through more than just the literal words. It depends on our life experiences, the instruments accompanying the singer, and the way the singer makes the words come to life.

Think about your favorite songs and musicians. Think about some of your favorite songs and why they are to meaningful to you.

Choose ONE song and research the lyrics, the story behind the song, and WHY its meaningful to you- how does it affect your mood? Analyze the words, the instrument choice, why it’s meaningful to you in your life, etc.

Analyze specific lyrics– and describe the message, viewpoint, or lesson the songwriter was trying to share and why this message is meaningful to you!

Include a video link to the song.

Add at least ONE image, photo, picture, meme, quote, etc. that you think helps explain how the song makes you feel. It should be symbolic- that means it shouldn’t be a quote FROM the song, or a photo of the musician, but it should capture the feelings or mood it creates for you when you hear the song.

After you complete your Multiple Intelligences Survey and graph your results, take some time to reflect on your strongest ways of being “smart.”

Create a name tag to visually display your strongest intelligences. When you are happy with your name tag and how it reflects the way you learn and work, take a photo of it to go on a new blog post!

Write two paragraphs about what you know of your intelligences, which ones are strongest for YOU, and how you already show these smarts. Make it interesting, give examples, show off what makes you uniquely smart!

Length: Your blog should be roughly 300-600 words on average (more is ok!).

Format: single spaced lines, line breaks between paragraphs, no indenting for new paragraphs

Below, you will find FOUR options for today’s blog post. Think about the time you have, your level of interest in the topic(s) and the need to write an interesting and well written post for class.

Then, choose and write like crazy!

Remember, you need to include images/graphics/links to other appropriate media to support your writing!

OPTIONS:

Look over your essay about the consequences/effects of participating in internet challenges. Revise to make it great and use it as the base for your post! Add some links and graphics to enhance your post!

Go back into your writer’s notebook a few weeks and read over the story you started that also contained irony. Type up what you started, finish your story and revise it to make it excellent. Add some links/images and post!

Read this opinion article (link below) on tastes in music. Respond to one or more questions that follow the article and use them to develop a post. Consider adding links to the song(s) you discuss and explore the idea of this time in your life being so important/influential to your tastes in music.

4. SO MANY people use social media that it almost becomes second nature to check what is happening. Most teens interact with social media– some almost constantly. Have you ever thought what it might be like to just stop??? Read the article below (see link) and for your opinion, write, and post!